My discussion with my father in his office had been one surprise after another. I’d learned that Kris had made a mark on the imperial capital in more ways than one. I’d also learned that I would be getting married soon, which I never would have imagined happening this early in life. In fact, I had never gotten married in my previous life.
I think I had a girlfriend at the very least. I did, right?
I felt like the answer to that question would only hurt me, so I decided to stop thinking about it.
I was still in my father’s office, alone with him. We’d finished discussing everything important, so we were now engaging in some friendly chitchat, during which he began to ask about my knowledge from my previous life.
Conditioner and lotion were both products that were unknown in this world. He asked if there were more useful products that still hadn’t been discovered. I wasn’t sure if it was for the best, but I decided to be honest.
“There are plenty. There are mountains of other products that could be made.”
My father furrowed his brows as he mumbled, “This is the biggest problem.” He sounded like he was struggling. “Reid, your knowledge is extremely dangerous. I’m sure you know things that could completely change the way this world works. If you ever want to use this knowledge from your previous life, you must speak to me first. Be careful not to consider what is normal to you as common sense for everyone else.”
“Yes, father,” I replied with a nod.
Even items as simple as conditioner and lotion had caused such a stir in the capital. I believed from the bottom of my heart that I needed to be more careful.
I actually have something I was wondering about regarding that annex he was talking about with Garren.
“You mentioned earlier that we will be building an annex,” I said. “Will Lady Farah and I be moving into that annex alone?”
“That’s right. Though we are welcoming her to the mark, she is a foreign royal and the empire’s hostage. The likelihood of her being a spy is very low, but there’s still a possibility that she is. When you consider all of those facts together, it is best that we build an annex for her.”
A spy, huh? I guess she’s coming from another country, so the chance isn’t zero. Also, the princess may be a child, but her servants probably won’t be. We’ll definitely have to watch out for them.
Though those thoughts were in my mind, I decided to ask my father about something else. “In that case, would it be possible for me to join in on the construction of the annex?”
“What?”
“My heart is racing thinking about building the place where I will live with my wife,” I said. “Also, when considering things I’d like to do in the future, I would like to include a research facility for Sandra, as well as an office for the Kristie Trading Company. Oh, I’d also like my own magic and martial arts training grounds, just like the ones on the main property.”
My father scowled upon hearing my words and sighed. “You fool... You know that we need to budget for the construction of the annex, right? We can’t build anything too complex.”
“I thought that the empire would be reimbursing for the construction costs.”
“That reimbursement comes from taxes. If we ask for too much, the central nobles are going to start reprimanding us. We must stay within our limits.”
Darn.
I’d wanted to get the empire to cover everything, but it didn’t look like that would be possible. For now, it was best that I backed down on this point.
“Understood. However, I would still like to be a part of the construction for the annex that I will be living in with my wife.”
“Very well,” my father said with a sigh. “I’ll make those arrangements. I think that’s enough for today.”
Though he wanted to wrap things up, I had one more thing to ask of him.
“Father, I have one final request.”
“You’re not done?” My father had started this long discussion with me as soon as he’d returned from the capital, so his exhaustion was starting to show.
“This will be quick: Please allow me to visit Lenarute.”
“What did you say?” His tired face quickly twisted into a scowl.
“You stated that I may participate in the construction of the annex, so I would like to see the culture of Lenarute for myself.”
“There’s no need for that. We can just call in a specialist who knows about their culture. You don’t have to go there.”
“There’s actually one other reason that I would like to visit the kingdom myself, and it’s something I can only tell you, father. I cannot share the details, but it has to do with my memories of my previous life and the simulation, as well as mother’s illness.”
My father’s eyebrows twitched. He maintained his scowl as he glared daggers at me, but I wasn’t going to back down. I fought back with a relentless smile. This staring contest might have looked comical to anyone watching. My father’s glare was powerful enough to send knights running, but I maintained a beaming smile in the face of it.
After a while, a deep sigh from my father filled the quiet office. “Fine. However, you must obviously travel with guards, and you may only stay in Lenarute for a few days. Your betrothal to the princess won’t be announced yet, but we can still say that we’re sending you there as a potential marriage candidate.”
I was planning on this being a casual visit, so my father’s response seemed blown out of proportion.
“In that case, what if I take a small group and travel under cover?”
“You idiot! If you were to do that and cause any trouble, not only will you personally be in hot water, but you’ll drag the entire mark into your mess. Depending on the issue, it could even cause a conflict between our countries! Don’t you dare do anything so careless!”
✦ ✦ ✦
I’d never seen my father so upset before, and his booming voice of anger filled the room. I couldn’t help but shrink at my first experience with seeing him so upset.
“I-I apologize...”
“You are the heir to the Valdia Mark, and you will be marrying a princess. In the worst case, you could be assassinated. Lenarute may be an ally, but no country is a monolith. There are undoubtedly citizens of Lenarute who don’t think fondly of Magnolians. You must never utter something so thoughtless again. Am I clear?”
I could be assassinated? I definitely never considered that. I guess this marriage is basically reminding Lenarute that they’re a vassal state. Even if it’s not official, I’m going to be visiting as a margrave who wants to marry the princess, not a member of the Magnolian imperial family. I’m sure there are people in Lenarute who won’t take kindly to that.
“I understand, father. I apologize for my thoughtless remarks.”
“As long as you understand,” he said. “I will tell you the exact dates of your trip once they have been decided. Is there anything else?”
“No, that is all. Thank you very much.”
“Mm,” he said with a nod. “You may be excused. I am going to rest.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you.”
I bowed and left the office. As I walked down the hallway, I heard someone call out my name.
“Sir Reid.”
I turned around and saw Garren smiling.
“I’m glad to see that you got to have a deep conversation with Sir Reiner,” he said.
“Y-Yeah. We had a lot to talk about today. Anyway, did you need something?”
What’s going on?
Garren took a deep breath before he responded. “Ever since Lady Nanalie fell ill, the members of the family began to grow apart and become low in spirits. Every member of the staff was quite worried about your family. However, your demeanor suddenly changed, Sir Reid, and now everyone is back to being their cheerful selves. On behalf of the staff, I would like to express how happy we are to see this.”
Garren continued to smile—it was the same look he’d given me in the office earlier. I now knew that he’d smiled because he was happy to see me being so friendly and chatting with my father. I also learned that everyone in the household had known about what was going on, and that they had been concerned. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Thank you for worrying about us,” I replied.
Garren cleared his throat before leaning down to whisper in my ear, “You will be all right, Sir Reid. I am confident that you will be able to make the princess of Lenarute happy. We will all help you as well. After all, she is going to be our young mistress.”
He had probably been waiting to tell me that. Garren seemed a bit embarrassed after saying that, and he bashfully scratched his cheek. I gave him the biggest smile I’d worn that day.
“Thanks, Garren!!! I’m going to do my best!!!”
“I am glad we can be of service.”
Though I was genuinely happy about his kind words, there was one thing bugging me.
“I have to say, Garren...”
“Yes, what is it?”
“The princess may be a child, but I think ‘young mistress’ is a little too matronly, no?”
“Pft!”
My comment seemed to have been quite funny to Garren, because he was uncharacteristically struggling to suppress his laughter.